Catamenial bandage.



A. T. VAN ALSTYN.

CATAMENIAL BANDAGE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 3, I914.

Patented Mar. 14, 1916.

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A. T. VAN ALSTYN.

CATAMENIAL BANDAGL APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 3, I914.

Patented Mar. 14,1916.

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THE COLUMBIA PLAyounAPfl 60., WASHINGTON, n. c.

ALBERT T. VAN ALSTYN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

CATAMENIAL BANDAGE.

Application filed September 3, 1914. Serial No. 859,939..

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT T. VAN Air STYN, a citizen of the United States, residing in New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Catamenial Bandages, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to an improvement in catamenial bandages or napkins and has for its ob ect among others, the provision of an economical duplex bandage, one that is sanitary, easily laundried, and readily adjustable to suit different anatomical requirements.

Another advantage of my device is that it contains no unsanitary pockets or crevices in which excreta may lodge and therefore be diflicult of cleansing.

Other advantages of my device are that it is reversible and owing to its substantially duplex or symmetrical form may be folded for use entirely according to the caprice, comfort or physical requirements of the wearer.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the bandage folded for use. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the bandage opened out flat. Fig. 2 is an end elevational view, showing the bandage opened out fiat. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing one fold made in said bandage. Fig. 4 is similar to Fig. 3 showing a second fold in said bandage. Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing a different type of fold therein. Fig. 6 is similar to Fig. 4 showing another fold therein. Fig. 7 is another view similar to Fig. 4 showing indications of other methods of longitudinal folding.

In my present improvement, my duplex bandage is shown as being substantially square or rectangular as in Fig. 2 and comprises a pair of fabric members, 1 and 2 and which members are arranged together and held in operable form by a line of stitching 3 which partially traverses the transverse center of the two bandages.

By referring to any of the figures, it will be noted that the bandages 1 and 2 are preferably longer than their width as indicated at A and B but that they are so overlapped or offset, as in Fig. 2 that they present a substantially square area, as shown in Fig. 2.

The distance F, F, that'the bandages are ofiset from one another before stitching de- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patents pends entirely upon the length of the fabric from which the bandage is made relatively to its width.

It is not necessary that the sewing 3 be done near the central position but it may be located to one side thereof as indicated by the dot and dash line 5 in Fig. 2. Also, a plurality of lines of stitching might be employed but this last noted method of affixing the bandages to one another would form unsanitary pockets between the lines of stitches and would therefore make the bandage undesirable, owing to such pockets being difficult to clean by means of the usual laundrying.

In Fig. 3, there is shown the first step in folding the bandage for use, wherein the first lap 6 has been folded over'along the edge 7 the entire length of the member 2 being diminished approximately one-third. The unfolded portion 8 of the member 2 is then folded overuntil its edges abut the folded edge 7 of the lap 6 thereby forming substantially a three-ply thickness of fabric approximately centrally located, longitudinally, on the member 1, as indicated in Fig. 4. This three-ply thickness, of course, applies only to the over-hanging end 9 of the folded member 2 inasmuch as where the said folded member 2 is attached by sewing to the member 1, the thickness of the material is four-ply owing to the addition of the fabric 1.

In Fig. 4 there are shown three transverse dotted lines a, b, c, which lines are for the purpose of indicating the folding points of the four laps which form the bandage for use, as indicated in Fig. 1. First the end 9 is folded over on the dotted line a and then the members 1 and 2 are folded together on the second dotted line Z) and then the article is again folded on the dotted line 0 for thereby forming an interior absorbent portion P of twelve thicknesses or plies of fabric at the middle or absorbent portion thereof and leaving only a thickness of three-plies or laps of the material 1 at the suspending ends E, Fig. 1, which ends therefore have less fabric than the middle or absorbent portion thereof. An advantage is gained in this regard, inasmuch as the ends E are customarily the points of attachment for suspending or securing the bandage during use and owing to the minimum amount of fabric left on said ends, they do not form bulky or unsightly protrusions thereby causing embarrassment to the wearer, while at the same time the maximum portion is so arranged in the interior of the bandage in such a manner as to bring the greater volume of fabric where itis most useful. 4

In Fig. 5 there is disclosed another form of folding wherein the member 2 is lapped so that its outer lateral edges meet at the center near the point of attachment and from this point on, further longitudinal folding forms a complete bandagelike that described for Fig. i.-

In Figs. 3, 4:, 5 and 7 the middle absorbent member 2 has been shown as being so located that when folded, the points of attachment E are approximately the same in length. In Fig. 6, however, there is shown another method of folding wherein one lap 10 is extremely short and the other lap 11 is greater, so that the edges 12 of the two folds meet at one side or the other of the point of stitching 3. The longitudinal folding ofthe napkin then ensues as described in connection with Fig. 4 and the bandage formed by this last noted arrangement of fabric causes one of the ends E to be of greater length than its opposite member thereby transferring or displacingthe bulk of the absorbent portion to one end or the other of the folded napkin,'as desired.

In Fig. 7 there is shown a bandage folded to a point similar to that described in connection with Fig. 4:, and there are indicated four longitudinal dotted lines, 6, f, 9, it, which lines indicate the folding edges of five different laps thereby making the bandage of a greater number of thicknesses of materialalthough it would not'be so wide a bandage as that made possible by the arrangement illustrated in Fig. 4.

A careful study of the foregoing will make it obvious that my device comprises two members, one of which forms substantially an inner absorbent member, and the other-member an outer envelop and securing means for the inner member.

It is also obvious that the members forming the bandage, before folding, are rectangular pieces of fabric stitched in a certain relative position to one another by one or more rows of stitching and thereafter the bandage proper is formed by a plurality of longitudinal and transverse foldings.

Owing to the fact that my bandage is comprised of practically two like members either of which may be foldedin the manner that member 1 is folded while the other is folded in the manner of member 2, my modification therefore becomes a reversible contrivance, in which case either member may be used as the interiorly contained absorbent member while the other forms the envelop or suspending means. ticular feature has great utility inasmuch as many of these napkins'when in use are pinned to supporting belts or like means,

This par-' and this constant pinning will naturallytend to fray out the ends E. Therefore, the reversibility of the napkin permits this abnormal wear to be distributed over both members as they are, from time to time, alternately used as an enveloplng or supporting member.

I claim: I V 1. A duplex napkin formed of a pair of symmetrically arranged pieces of fabric, 1

ric, partially lapped with one another and stitching through the'center of the lapped portion thereof, either of said symmetrical members being adapted, after being folded,

to form the inner absorbent member or the outer envelop therefor. R

3. A duplex napkin comprising two pieces of absorbent fabric ofisetfrom one.

another and being connected together intermediate of the offset portion, either of said pieces adapted to form the inner absorbent portion and the other of said pieces I forming the envelop therefor.

4L. A napkin composed of a pair of like pieces of fabric, one partially lapped over the other, stitching through the center of the lapped portions to secure the two pieces of fabric together, one of. said pieces being folded over both lengthwise and sidewise into a short and narrow package to form the absorbent member, and the other of said pieces being folded over only sidewise to inclose said absorbent member, while the ends of said'enveloping piece form the attaching means by which the bandage may be secured to the garment of the wearer.

ALBERT T. VAN ALSTYN. Witnesses: g

H. D. PENNEY,

J V. CHRISTOPHER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

